SEARCY — Antique car enthusiasts from throughout the White County area gathered at Pioneer Village in Searcy on the morning of July 10 in anticipation of the arrival of a caravan of Model T Fords from Heber Springs, where the Arkansas Tin Lizzies Club held its annual meeting July 9 and began its annual summer tour.
Members of the regional club came from Texas and Missouri to join club members from throughout Arkansas for the annual gathering and to participate in the tour, which took them from Heber Springs through Batesville and into Searcy.
White County’s Pioneer Village was ready. Spruced to perfection, the park was an ideal setting for Henry Ford’s Model T Ford, first produced in 1908. Members of the crowd had an opportunity to look at the restored cars and talk with their owners.
“The club was founded in Russellville in 2005, and our membership now runs in the 40s,” said David Ragsdale, one of the founding members and a past president of the Arkansas Tin Lizzies Club. “We welcome anyone interested in Model T’s to join us.”
Ragsdale and his wife, Tina, arrived at Pioneer Village in their 1923 Ford Model T Touring Car, which was previously owned by a Searcy resident, Toby Noble, who is now deceased.
Many at Pioneer Village on July 10 to see the Tin Lizzies remembered Noble and his love for the car.
“I remember Preacher Deaton, who worked with Toby restoring the car,” said Buddy Phillips of Searcy.
Searcy businessman Steve Bonifant and his wife, Caroline, who own a 1915 Model T Touring Car, rode into Searcy with the Ragsdales.
Current club president Paul Graham and his wife, Patty, who live in Lakeview, said members enjoyed being together again for their annual meeting held at the Holiday Inn in Heber Springs.
They said the group limits its annual tours to about 100 miles, and two or three days, and that club members not only enjoy telling the public about their cars, but also like driving the back roads and visiting places where they would be hesitant to drive alone.
On July 10, a wrecker traveled with the group, and one Lizzie needed the wrecker’s assistance before reaching Pioneer Village.
Arriving in the village in a rather spaced-out parade fashion, the cars soon were posted in shady spots, and their owners encouraged visitors to “look, but be careful touching” the antique cars.
“The distance between groups of four or five cars as they arrived in Searcy was because their drivers didn’t want to cause traffic problems for others on the highways,” Ragsdale said, “and the short trip from Heber Springs was no big deal for the Tin Lizzie owners, some who traveled to Richmond, Indiana, in 2008 in observance of the 100th anniversary of the Model T Ford. Since then, several of the members have driven their Lizzies over 2,000 miles.”
According to history of the Model T found on the Internet, Henry Ford’s “baby” was sold new from 1908 to 1927 for around $300 to $400 and got its nickname, Tin Lizzie, after Noel Bullock won a race up Pike’s Peak in 1922.
Bullock called his car “Old Liz” because of its unpainted state and lack of a hood. The opinions of Old Liz changed when “she” came in first in the race, and soon afterward, “Tin Lizzie” became the nickname for Model Ts.
Members of the White County Historical Society’s Friends of the Village organization welcomed visitors, dressed in clothing similar to that worn during pioneer days and opened the various buildings, where they told the history of the village. Bill Leach, White County Historical Society president, was observed helping a couple of young ladies learning to use tom walkers, commonly know as stilts.
Elizabeth Heard, chairwoman of the Friends of Pioneer Village, said the new restrooms aren’t quite ready for use but will be completed in time for Fall Fest on Nov. 7 and 8, and that Village workers are already planning for An Old Fashioned Christmas, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 5. For more information about future events at Pioneer Village, visit whitecountypioneervillage.org.
For information about membership in the Arkansas Model T Club, call David Ragsdale at (479) 970-3461.